Introduction
When it first came of age in the 1980s, Computer Generated Imagery, or CGI was seen as expensive computer wizardry for specialized applications like Hollywood movies, medical imaging, Defense and Aeronautics applications, and other such exotic ventures. By the 1990s, with Business applications like Adobe Photoshop transforming image editing and AutoCAD revolutionizing Architecture and Engineering. It became clear that CGI was going to transform the world. In the last two decades, the capability jumps have been nothing short of astounding, with HD quality, complex modeling, and realistic renders. These are helping build an entire digital world. Let’s examine the Interior design with AI-driven CGI.
The next revolution in CGI promises to be even more transformative. Artificial Intelligence, or AI is set to add speed, reduce complexity for human operators, and bring down costs for CGI, democratizing it for many more applications than are feasible now. One of the foremost areas of interest for the commercial CGI industry is Interior Design.
Focus on Interiors
Think about how many elements go into making even the simplest interior design. There’s the flooring, lighting, walls and paint, fixtures, decoratives, rugs, furniture, countertops, sinks, closets…you get the idea. Each of these elements represent an entire business line in real life. For many Americans, a house and its interiors are the biggest investments they’ll ever make. Therefore, there is a lot of interest in every aspect of design, integration, advertising, and sale in this area. Thus it is that a lot of commercial CGI is focused on creating realistic looking interiors. From accurately lit floors and wooden cabinets, to tiles, textured sofas, and so on. This is usually done via expensive, labor-intensive CGI asset creation. Which can be a pretty major capital expenditure for a brand.
Furthermore, the real use of CGI is not just to create marketing materials, but to put the power of DIY in the hands of consumers via applications like smartphone-based AR.
Role of AI
AI has multiple applications in the CGI industry. The two main categories for AI applications are creative work, and design & production optimization. Specifically:
- AI can help retailers and manufacturers to create photorealistic CGI renders of their products, using natural language processing (NLP) and image creation tools like Photoshop. These renders can be used for marketing, sales, customer engagement, customer preference testing, experimentation with different styles, colors, textures, materials, etc.
- AI can assist designers and engineers to optimize their products, using machine learning and data analysis tools. This can happen at many stages of the product design process, such as automation of repetitive tasks, anticipatory model/wireframe preparation, and texturing. As a result AI can also help create / visualize new design ideas, run diagnostics on feasibility and performance, and in the process, improve their quality and efficiency.
- AI can help customers visualize and interact with products in a number of interactive ways. For example, AI-driven CGI can evaluate a space using the device camera, and based on specific user directions about budget and style, choose items from a database to create complete looks for rooms, show them in different lighting conditions, or using AR/VR tools, allow users to do 360 degree examinations of products in standalone mode, either in cyberspace, or in digital replicas of their own spaces.
The overall impact of AI in CGI is faster designs / design variants, DIY design assistance, and as a result, lower costs.
Conclusion
Brands both big and small in the world of Interior Design need to leverage Smart CGI workflows. Whether the brand sells cushion covers or marble flooring. It still needs to build a load of CGI models- some as background/foreground/accessories. Others as interactive digital replicas of their products. However this is easier said than done. If you are a brand that isn’t really sure how to stay ahead of the curve in this area, feel free to reach out to us. At Manipal Digital, we love working with brands and creative people, so we’d love to hear from you!
